Royal portraiture had an important place in the projection of the rulers in pre-colonial and colonial India. The portraits in the pre-colonial era established the ruler’s dynastic credentials and they were laden with symbols of royalty even while presenting the princes in their context—their courtiers, soldiers, women etc. However, with the entry of the European artists came a new style of portraiture that presented the rulers in life-size portraits. New props were introduced to lend majesty to the subjects and the indigenous artists were influenced by the new styles and paint mediums. Photography further produced another radical change as now princes were pictured in different ways. The book covers royal portraiture from the early eighteenth century to the mid-twentieth century in an attempt to study the depiction of the royal figures and scenes as well as look behind the immediate figure of the rulers and the outward show to discover what the men and women wanted to say about themselves to the viewer. The volume analyses the different styles of portraiture favoured by the rulers and the motives behind the pictures. It examines the rulers at war, in the durbar, visiting shrines, in processions and receiving ambassadors. The stories behind the portraits are also discussed: why they were commissioned and by whom. It interprets the gaze of the rulers portrayed and their life story to throw light on important matters of princely life and rule in India with the advent of the British. It discusses Company artists in the princely courts of India. There are splendid portraits and paintings of the Nawabs of the Lucknow Court (1775-1856), the Tanjore Maratha Court, the Hyderabad Court and the Maharajas of Jaipur. It presents photographs that capture the rulers trying to maintain their dignity in the context of colonial administration and political upheavals. The volume will enthrall a range of readers particularly historians, artists, and photographers interested in the life and luxury of the princes and regional rulers of India.